PM Modi, BJP President Amit Shah at the party's Central Election Committee meeting in New Delhi (Press Trust of India photo)
With just five days to go before filing of nominations for assembly elections in Maharashtra closes, the BJP and its long-time ally Shiv Sena are far from reaching a consensus on seat-sharing. The BJP today conveyed to the Sena that they will not settle for anything less than 130 seats. The demand for 130 seats, down from the 135 they had earlier wanted, has the approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to BJP sources.
The PM has reportedly told the BJP's Maharashtra unit that the party will support its decision on continuing the alliance with the Shiva Sena, but he wants them to make every effort till the very last moment to try and save it.
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The PM met BJP leaders from Maharashtra for over three hours on Sunday evening in Delhi and also held a one-on-one meeting with party chief Amit Shah to discuss the crisis. Sources said the BJP is prepping for the possibility of contesting next month's state elections alone.
After a week of brinksmanship and tough negotiations, the Sena and BJP, partners for 25 years, are no closer to agreeing on seat sharing. Leaders from both parties admit that they are the closest to break point than they have ever been. "The big question is whether the alliance with the BJP will survive," said Sena chief Udhav Thackeray on Sunday.
BJP sources said the Maharashtra unit is in favour of dumping the Shiv Sena and contesting alone if the partner does not concede to its demand for more seats to contest. BJP leaders reportedly discussed preparations for the elections, now 22 days away, and also how the party would fare if it decides to go it alone.
There are 288 seats in the Maharashtra assembly. The BJP wants both parties to contest 135 seats each and leave 18 for smaller parties. In negotiations it has said it can come down to 130 seats.
In what Mr Thackeray called his final offer yesterday, the Sena says it is willing to contest 151 seats, 18 less than the 169 it contested last time, thus allotting all 18 seats to smaller allies from its quota. That will leave 119 seats for the BJP, the number it had contested then.
The BJP has rejected that offer. It argues that its superior performance in the Lok Sabha elections four months ago qualifies it to equal partner status in the state. The BJP has also argued that the Shiv Sena has consistently lost in 59 seats that it has contested, while the BJP has lost in 19 seats and the allies should look at redistributing these.
The Shiv Sena says giving in to anything less than 150 seats will cause a rebellion in its ranks. It has talked of self-respect and asserted its status as the senior partner in Maharashtra.
The Shiv Sena argues that the Lok Sabha election results or the "Modi wave" that the BJP claims led to their victory will have no bearing on state elections.
The rival alliance of the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party or NCP which has ruled Maharashtra for 15 years is also in trouble. The two partners have been unable to agree on seat-sharing. The NCP wants to contest exactly half the seats; the Congress is refusing to give to that demand.
The Congress is in a huddle in Delhi today to assess its options while the NCP too will hold a meeting in Mumbai to discuss how long it should wait for the Congress to respond to its 50-50 offer.
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